The Pittsburgh Pirates made it clear all summer that Paul Skenes wasn’t going anywhere, but that didn’t stop teams from making calls. According to Jon Heyman of the New York Post, the New York Yankees were one of the clubs that pushed hardest to pry away the reigning NL Rookie of the Year and even dangled some of their top young talent.
Heyman reports that the Yankees were willing to discuss a package involving infielder George Lombard Jr. (their No. 1 prospect) and outfielder Spencer Jones (their No. 3 prospect). It’s uncertain whether New York ever considered putting both players in the same deal, but the mere conversation shows how highly they valued Skenes. Still, if the Yankees thought they could headline an offer with prospects ranked No. 24 (Lombard) and No. 87 (Jones) on MLB Pipeline’s Top 100 and walk away with the Pirates’ ace, that’s more dream than reality.
Skenes has been electric in 2025. The 22-year-old right-hander owns a 1.92 ERA, a 2.52 FIP, and 203 strikeouts across 178 innings in 30 starts. He’s not just the frontrunner for the NL Cy Young; he’s the kind of generational arm that franchises are built around, not dealt away. Pittsburgh knows it, too. For a team staring at its seventh consecutive losing season and another last-place finish in the NL Central, the surest path back to relevance is surrounding Skenes with real talent, not cashing him in for lottery tickets.
To their credit, the Yankees weren’t shy about swinging big. Jones has 33 home runs across Double-A and Triple-A this year while posting a .925 OPS, and Lombard Jr. brings speed and patience at the plate with 33 steals and a .368 OBP. Both project as future contributors in the Bronx. But let’s be honest: a pair of promising prospects isn’t moving the needle for a pitcher who could anchor the Pirates’ rotation for the next decade.
The Yankees deserve credit for trying. The Pirates deserve credit for laughing it off. Skenes isn’t just untouchable. He’s the rare player who makes an entire franchise rethink its future.